Chabad of Calabasas

RISE AND SHINE If you want to sum up the whole Purim story in three words, here they are: Sleepless in Shushan. The grand miracle of Purim, where Haman's wicked plot to wipe us out boomerangs back on his head, all begins when the King Achashverosh can't sleep. ...Continue reading

STANDING IN LINE The lines were out the door. So says the Megillah. The rumors about the kind of party happening inside were incredible. The king of the civilized world, the great Achashverosh, was the host, and the venue was his palace. He had invited everyone, even the Jews, and people were tripping over themselves to get in. Mordechai made it clear that this party was no place for a Jew. When people dismissed his warning, he asked them whether they had any idea what the ki...Continue reading

YOU DON'T NEED GORILLA GLUE Happy Adar everyone! The Mishnah declares, "When Adar arrives, we increase in joy." Well, Adar's status is: ARRIVED. Let the joy increase!...Continue reading

UNIVERSAL PORTABLE CHARGERS The thing about portable chargers is, they're awesome. Just when you think your phone is out of juice, there is the heroic portable charger, all powered up, standing ready to recharge on demand. It can be a thousand miles from the nearest power source, and it can still provide power.... A portable charger can be a real lifesaver, figuratively or even literally. Only, there is a condition: it has to have charged ITSELF up recently at a power source. If it hasn't, it can't help you either. The fourth of the Ten Commandments is listed in the Parshah this week. "Remember the day of Shabbat, make it holy. Work for six days and get all your work done. But on the seventh day, observe a day of rest for G-d, your G-d. Do not do any work." What is really being said here is this: At Mount Sinai, G-d appointed us the world's portable chargers. "Portable chargers" is simply an updated way of saying, "A light unto the nations." We are meant to be a portable charger unto the nations. Universal portable chargers. The human condition is such that people run out of energy. They lose the signal connection them with hope, faith and optimism; they've lost power. They need to recharge. Well, the Creator foresaw that, and appointed us, the Jewish People as the official portable chargers for humanity. Anyone who needs a recharge should be able to approach the nearest Jew and get recharged. But if we are the portable chargers charging everyone around us, when and where do we charge OURSELVES? And so this is how it works: six days you shall work, and (toward the end of the sixth day you will notice yourself running out of power and) on the seventh day you shall RECHARGE. It is a day to connect to G-d, your G-d, the great Power Source. By observing the rest on Shabbat, we are powered up to be the portable chargers we are meant to be, Sunday through Friday. Shabbat gives us the energy we need to inject spiritual sensitivity in our environment and to share the riches of faith with people we interact with. Especially in times of excessive confusion, people depend on the Jewish faith for clarity. When people are tired and discouraged they look to the Torah for a shot in the arm, to rediscover their own faith. They're looking for a portable charger. So even if a Jewish man or woman doesn't feel motivated to observe the rest on Shabbat for their own sake, they ought to know that the world is depending on them to do it. The world needs its portable chargers and needs them to be fully charged. So this Shabbat, unplug your phone and plug in your soul to G-d, your G-d. You'll be surprised by who will thank you for doing that. You'll be surprised by who has been filling up on power from you. And you'll be surprised to discover how seriously ESSENTIAL you have been all along. Good Shabbos, Shabbat Shalom. Rabbi Eli Friedman Chabad of Calabasas